Collecting warm clothes for soldiers and commanders of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War (based on materials from the Kuibyshev, Penza and Saratov regions)

During the Great Patriotic War, patriotic movements to help the front were launched in all rear regions of the country. The paper examines one of these initiatives to collect warm clothes for the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army in the Kuibyshev, Penza and Saratov regions. Their residents immediately responded to the authorities’ call to help the front. Based on archival material and newspaper publications of those years, the author comes to the conclusion that two directions can be distinguished in the movement under consideration: the collection one and the production one (knitting, felting boots, sewing, repairing) of warm clothing. The assistance from the civilian population in providing Soviet soldiers and officers with warm clothing became a significant contribution to the victory over the enemy. 

war, winter, patriotism, help, soldiers and officers, warm clothing, front